Violet and Claire
Summary "Violet and Claire," written by Francesca Lia Block, is based on a story about friendship between two very different girls in L.A. Violet is the girl who is crazy (meaning she's wild), always wearing black, and interested in making a movie. She encounters "Tinker Bell," known as Claire, whose interested in writing poetry. Claire gets made fun of by other students, and Violet is always protecting her from them. They meet in high school and interestingly they become quick friends. When things fall apart by desires and ambitions (with their different personalities), they are able to maintain and survive what they always have between each other- love and friendship. Characters Violet: The girl who wears black and the leader who makes the decisions about what they do. Violet is crazy and wild. Before meeting Claire, she used to cut herself with a knife. She loves attending wild parties and meeting people. She is pulled in by drugs after finishing her screenplay. Violet is also growing up entirely too fast. Her parents in this story are almost invisible. She's rich, so maybe that justifies her ability to just go out on her own, and never deal with the consequences of her actions. She views everyone as some instrument or another, that will accompany her self-made orchestra. She's a "screen writer" and everything, including her friend Claire, is her muse. She takes on the role of being a mature teenager whom has a lot of good fortune fall into her lap, which the average kid wouldn't have. She's definitely an rebel, and is in charge of her own destiny. Claire: According to Violet, she is known as "Tinker Bell" because when Violet first meets Claire, she has a Faerie shirt on. Claire is definitely a pushover. She goes with what Violet says (most of the time). She doesn't express herself as much as Violet and is hurt by Peter. Peter is just a boy from school in Claire's poetry class. He's been friends with Violet for a long time, although Violet probably wouldn't claim him as her friend. Peter makes a move on Claire, and she finds Peter and Violet together. She assumes Violet and Peter have something going on (although Peter wants Violet and she refuses him because she refuses to hurt her friend). It is easy to say that Claire is a pushover and doesn't express herself as Violet does; this may not be entirely true. Is Violet an extrovert? Yes. Is Claire an Introvert? Yes. Claire is more humble and quiet, but when she does chime in one can tell it was thought out. She is a poet and she's more observant, looking, taking notice, and later recording it in a poem. She is expressive, but just in the same way that Violet is. She expresses herself through her written word, and nothing is wrong with that. Expression comes in many forms, and Claire chooses a more subtle way of expressing herself. Themes The book deals a lot with: freedom, love, choice, and friendship. Freedom: Violet owns her freedom. She knows what she wants although she may not be making the best choices. Claire expresses her thoughts through writing. Love: There is no love between a significant other but between each other through friendship. In addition to the'love' the girls have for their friendship, they also have love for what they do. Violet loves to be the center of attention, Violet would love to be a successful playright and that love drives her. Whether or not it leads her on the wrong roads is a different story. Claire loves poetry, she's a writer. she doesn't have to go out looking for something that will fit nicely into a screenplay, when her muses surround her daily. And I truly believe nothing is wrong with a love such as poetry. Friendship: The power of friendship is important in this novel because it's what keeps them from being who they are and being there for each other. Even though this novel is about Claire and Violet's friendship,it is hard to see it and understand how it comes about. Maybe they're just boring teenagers, but I don't see how they are these, 'good friends.' I think neither one of them wants to be alone, and they're both outcasts in their own way, so they choose to hang out together. I don't see the 'deep rooted' friendship in this book. It's as if they use friendship as an excuse to not be alone. Choices: Both girls have choices that they make that determine the outcome for both of them. Violet makes the choice to be this free-spirit, to write her screen play, to put more focus on work than school, to sleep with a rockstar, to befriend Claire. Every choice she has made has some consequence attached to it, and it's possible she didn't think her choices all the way through. Claire on the other hand, may come off as shy and as this poet, but that was the choice she made. It is so easy to let one's friends influence them into doing the wrong thing. And what I can say about claire was that she didn't make the choice to be like Violet. I don't think this hurt her at all. She stayed true to herself. References For further review, click the links below. http://www.teenink.com/Past/2001/February/Books/Violetand.html http://www.harperchildrens.com/catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=0064472531 http://www.gurl.com/ http://www.gothicgirl.com/forums/showthread.php3?p=220963#post220963